A federal investigation into the way the secretary of state's office was run under Ryan has taken its toll. According to the poll, an overwhelming number of Illinois voters believe he should have known bribes were being exchanged for truck drivers' licenses.

Almost half the voters surveyed said they don't believe Ryan when he says he didn't know that some of the bribe money was ending up in his gubernatorial campaign war chest.

And just more than half the voters in the poll said they personally hold the governor responsible for the scandal.

The findings of the poll, conducted Jan. 4 through 9, indicate that Ryan faces a severe credibility problem with Illinois voters because of myriad problems that have beset his administration.

These include the bribery scandal, contracts that have benefited his closest friends, controversial legislation that has helped influential businessmen, and a massive public works program that is being financed with increased liquor taxes and vehicle fees.

"I wish he would put the needs of the people ahead of his own personal gains. Maybe he thinks he's doing that--I don't know," said poll respondent Sylvia Oehl, a Huntley resident who voted for Ryan. "He just doesn't come across as honest as Jim Edgar did, for example, or Jim Thompson."

Ryan's weak standing among voters may be one reason why his leadership of the state Republican Party has been challenged by Senate President James "Pate" Philip (R-Wood Dale) over gun control.

Although the poll indicates that the state's voters overwhelmingly support Ryan's push for making illegal firearms possession a felony, this has not translated into support for Ryan personally.

Ryan has three more years left in his term and is still considered a likely candidate for re-election. But the poll results suggest that more Republicans who face re-election before Ryan may take a stronger stand against the governor's initiatives.

Ryan aides note that the governor was elected in 1998 with only 51 percent of the vote against Democrat Glenn Poshard. And they believe the completion of highly visible public works projects in the $12 billion Illinois FIRST program during the next three years can help offset any voter anger over higher liquor taxes and license-plate fees.

But the poll showed only 38 percent of the state's voters now have a favorable opinion of Ryan, a decline of nearly 20 percentage points from January 1998, when he launched his gubernatorial campaign. During the same period, the percentage of voters who had an unfavorable opinion of Ryan has climbed to 34 percent from 11 percent.

Although a decline in popularity is normally expected during a hard-fought gubernatorial campaign, the continued slide in Ryan's favorability after his election is unusual and reflects the controversies that have dogged him.

The poll also showed the number of voters who approve of the job Ryan has done as governor has dropped below 50 percent, the minimum comfort level for an incumbent.

Only 44 percent of the voters said they approved of Ryan's job performance, down 6 percentage points from a Tribune poll conducted only three months ago. Meanwhile, 32 percent of the voters said they disapproved of the way Ryan is running the office of governor. An additional 24 percent had no opinion.

Particularly troubling for Ryan is a drop in support among voters who call themselves Republicans and among voters who reside in the Republican-rich collar counties and Downstate Illinois.

Just half the voters who align themselves with the GOP approve of the job Ryan is doing, and only 43 percent have a favorable opinion of him. In the six counties that ring Cook County, only 48 percent of voters are satisfied with Ryan's job performance and only 39 percent look at him favorably.

"I'll tell you the truth, if I were to vote again, I wouldn't vote for him this time," said poll respondent Robert Stein of Schaumburg, a print-industry salesman. "He turned out to be too much of a politician."

Outside the Chicago metropolitan region, more voters disapprove of the way Ryan has conducted himself as governor than like the job he is doing. More of those voters also have an unfavorable opinion of Ryan.

A leading factor in voter disenchantment with Ryan is the continuing federal Operation Safe Road investigation of the secretary of state's office, which the governor formerly ran.

Last week, two former license examiners and a driving instructor pleaded guilty in a licenses-for-bribes scheme. That made 17 people who have pleaded guilty since the probe began in September 1998.